Hi all,
First I must apologies as I don't have any pics, my camera decided to flake out on me but will get some when I next take it out.
I recently picked up a snugpak stratosphere as an alternative to my hammock.
I have been going down the lightweight route more and more recently (though not really succeeding) and fancied something I can use on the ground but not a full blown tent or an open air bivi.
Well it turned up (about £95 brand new from evilbay) and I must say I was impressed. It came in its own stuff sack with compression straps and a roll up top with a buckle (like a dry bag).
It packs down to about 25-30cm by 10cm including the poles and pegs which takes up less space than my Hennessy or DD hammocks without their tarps.
I decided to do a single overnight trip to test it out and on arrival I opened the stuff sack and took all of about 3 minutes to set up without any instructions (though even if they had been provided as a bloke the first thing I would have done is thrown them away).
Set up is simply - take out of bag, assemble the two poles provided, thread poles through the two head end loops and peg out both ends and the vent flap.
Length wise I am 5'11" and had room to spare and would guess you could easily fit a comfortable 6'2".
The bag has plenty of room for your feet, legs, waist and chest though the material will be touching your sleeping bag.
The head end has ample space, funnily enough, for your head and I was able to cross my arms behind my head without touching the walls - you wouldn't get much kit in there with you unless you want be cramped, no space for a pack and wouldn't fancy boots up near my head (at least not mine) though there is a small mesh pocket on the ceiling that will fit a phone, wallet, headtorch etc...
There is a vent at the back of the head end which is pegged open permanently to allow ventilation and another mesh vent in front of your face if laying on your back which can be opened up (to allow the midges in) or zipped over to cover it completely in bad weather - I will probably have it zipped up as a vent but not covered over as the one thing I did notice was a tenancy to get a bit stuffy and can see condensation being a possible issue, that said I didn't really have any problems with it but maybe in colder weather.
Although the weather was good I have some concerns over how waterproof the bivi is, there seem to be mixed reviews on the interweb and as a back up I will be taking a tarp to throw up above it.
From my experience with tents, and the fact the bivi material will be touching your sleeping back, I expect it would only stand up to light rain and not a substantial downpour.
This will also benefit as a dry area in poor weather as unlike traditional tents or hammock set ups there is limited space inside and also provides an area to store your pack, cook or chill out in bad weather.
You can easily read a book inside, do a bit of carving or similar if you don't mind clearing shavings out when your done and can even get changed with a bit of wiggling.
Under the tarp the bivi with sleeping bag inside makes a good seat and is surprisingly comfy.
All in all I'm very pleased with it and will get some photos on my next trip out and make any more comments on how it's performing.
All the best, Hamster
First I must apologies as I don't have any pics, my camera decided to flake out on me but will get some when I next take it out.
I recently picked up a snugpak stratosphere as an alternative to my hammock.
I have been going down the lightweight route more and more recently (though not really succeeding) and fancied something I can use on the ground but not a full blown tent or an open air bivi.
Well it turned up (about £95 brand new from evilbay) and I must say I was impressed. It came in its own stuff sack with compression straps and a roll up top with a buckle (like a dry bag).
It packs down to about 25-30cm by 10cm including the poles and pegs which takes up less space than my Hennessy or DD hammocks without their tarps.
I decided to do a single overnight trip to test it out and on arrival I opened the stuff sack and took all of about 3 minutes to set up without any instructions (though even if they had been provided as a bloke the first thing I would have done is thrown them away).
Set up is simply - take out of bag, assemble the two poles provided, thread poles through the two head end loops and peg out both ends and the vent flap.
Length wise I am 5'11" and had room to spare and would guess you could easily fit a comfortable 6'2".
The bag has plenty of room for your feet, legs, waist and chest though the material will be touching your sleeping bag.
The head end has ample space, funnily enough, for your head and I was able to cross my arms behind my head without touching the walls - you wouldn't get much kit in there with you unless you want be cramped, no space for a pack and wouldn't fancy boots up near my head (at least not mine) though there is a small mesh pocket on the ceiling that will fit a phone, wallet, headtorch etc...
There is a vent at the back of the head end which is pegged open permanently to allow ventilation and another mesh vent in front of your face if laying on your back which can be opened up (to allow the midges in) or zipped over to cover it completely in bad weather - I will probably have it zipped up as a vent but not covered over as the one thing I did notice was a tenancy to get a bit stuffy and can see condensation being a possible issue, that said I didn't really have any problems with it but maybe in colder weather.
Although the weather was good I have some concerns over how waterproof the bivi is, there seem to be mixed reviews on the interweb and as a back up I will be taking a tarp to throw up above it.
From my experience with tents, and the fact the bivi material will be touching your sleeping back, I expect it would only stand up to light rain and not a substantial downpour.
This will also benefit as a dry area in poor weather as unlike traditional tents or hammock set ups there is limited space inside and also provides an area to store your pack, cook or chill out in bad weather.
You can easily read a book inside, do a bit of carving or similar if you don't mind clearing shavings out when your done and can even get changed with a bit of wiggling.
Under the tarp the bivi with sleeping bag inside makes a good seat and is surprisingly comfy.
All in all I'm very pleased with it and will get some photos on my next trip out and make any more comments on how it's performing.
All the best, Hamster
